How to sign off a website project properly: a free checklist

A messy sign-off leaves a messy memory – and it’s one of the easiest things to fix with the right checklist in place.

Welcome to another episode of Websites Made Simple with me, Holly Christie.

In this episode, I’m walking you through my full website sign-off process – the checklist I use every single time to make sure projects end cleanly, clients are set up properly, and I can actually close the project and move on.

We get into:

• My website “pack-down” checklist and why you need one
• Cookie notices, GDPR, and what to check before you go live
• Why you should run a Page Speed Insights report and screenshot it every time
• Setting up admin accounts (the step I’ve forgotten more than once)
• Website manuals: why every client should get one and how to create them
• How to test on incognito browser and mobile before you call it done
• Getting written sigh-off from your client – and the wording that matters
• Migration, SSL certificates and enforcing HTTPS after moving a site
• Contact form testing, SMTP and GDPR-compliant database saving
• How to organise client training and what my personalised video manuals look like
• Setting up client logins and making sure they know how to run WordPress updates
• Asking for reviews at exactly the right moment
• What is and is not your responsibility once a project is signed off

If you want every project to end with a clean, confident handover – this one will help you build that process.

Grab my sign-off checklist by clicking here:

Here’s the link if you want to learn more about my brilliant podcast producer, Neal Veglio at Podknows.

Skip to the good bits:

00:00 What really matters about your tech stack

00:36 Welcome to Websites Made Simple

00:50 Holly’s experience of tech shaming on LInkedIn

01:50 Sparks group Mentoring explained

02:36 It’s not about the platform – it’s about the results

03:41 Why client ease should come first

04:24 Page builders, locked-down sites, and client access

05:26 Clients should always be able to access their own website

06:25 The disappearing developer problem

07:11 How to sign off a website properly

07:48 Client training, Zoom handovers, and user manuals

08:24 Building for two people: your client and their visitors

09:11 Why tech shaming is really just imposter syndrome

10:03 Why clients choose you for personality, not tools

11:30 “In 20 years, I’ve never gone back to the same designer twice – until now”